Money Talks: Another way, another dollar?
Money Talks from The Economist
The Economist
4.4 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 25 May 2023
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
From Alipay’s QR codes to PayPal, it’s never been easier to move money around. Central banks are even considering their own digital currencies. And all that cross-border cashlessness has some wondering about the dollar’s international dominance.
On this week’s podcast, hosts Mike Bird and Tom Lee-Devlin examine the risks to the world’s reserve currency. The Economist’s Arjun Ramani explains how far digital payments have come; Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for financial services, discusses ambitions for a digital euro; and Michael Pettis from Peking University explains the costs inherent in hosting a reserve currency.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | As Nigel opened his Amazon parcel, it was in love at first sight. |
| 0:04.5 | Sleek design and effortless cornering. |
| 0:07.2 | This vacuum cleaner screamed quality and for a price lower than he ever dreamed. |
| 0:11.8 | Five stars from Nigel. |
| 0:15.0 | With star reviews from you and star prices from us, |
| 0:18.2 | start your search on Amazon today. |
| 0:24.4 | In New York City, in 1949, |
| 0:27.8 | a man named Frank McNamara forgot his wallet while taking a wealthy client out for dinner. |
| 0:34.8 | The embarrassment of not having cash to pay the bill left its mark, |
| 0:39.8 | and a year later, Frank launched the Diners Club card, |
| 0:43.8 | the world's first credit card. |
| 0:46.8 | It was a card for people who needed convenience more than credit |
| 0:50.8 | as Frank McNamara's son Bob put it. |
| 0:53.8 | The driver for Diners Club in the beginning was to provide a credit card for upscale people |
| 0:58.8 | to have the ability to go out and use their Diners Club card at select restaurants. |
| 1:03.8 | Frank McNamara couldn't know at the time that he wasn't just finding a cashless way |
| 1:08.8 | to make sure he paid for dinner, |
| 1:10.8 | but setting in motion a change in the way that payments worked. |
| 1:14.8 | A change that by now might even threaten the dominance of the dollar. |
| 1:20.8 | Cashless is now very much the way of the world, |
| 1:23.8 | not least in digital payments from China's alley pay to India's UPI, |
| 1:28.8 | to, well, to the still relatively clunky means of paying for things in America. |
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